Kolkata, June 29 (IANS) A complaint has been lodged against former Education Minister and ex-Trinamool Congress MLA Partha Chatterjee on charges of extortion and issuing death threats, police said on Monday.

Former Kolkata Municipal Corporation councillor Ghanashree Bagh and her associates, identified as Tilak Bhattacharya and Sudip Ghosh, have also been named in the complaint on similar charges.

According to the police, the incident took place in 2020, two years before Partha Chatterjee was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the CBI in the teachers’ recruitment corruption case.

The complainant, a resident of Thakurpukur Road, claimed she could not approach the police earlier due to fear, as the Trinamool Congress was in power at the time. She filed the complaint at Thakurpukur police station against Partha Chatterjee, Ghanashree Bagh, Tilak Bhattacharya, and Sudip Ghosh after the change in political circumstances, prompting an investigation.

The police said that the complainant, a woman, alleged that her father-in-law, a BJP worker, was falsely implicated in a case linked to a local incident in which a youth was injured. Despite not being present at the scene, he was arrested, first remanded to police custody and later sent to judicial custody.

When the family protested, they were allegedly summoned and pressured into silence by Chatterjee and the local councillor. The complainant further alleged that their family business was disrupted for around six months, causing losses of nearly Rs 40 lakh.

The complainant claimed that she was pressured against getting any legal assistance.

She also claimed that Ghanashree Bagh extorted Rs 25 lakh from her husband on the promise of securing the release of his father. Subsequently, the accused allegedly demanded an additional Rs 1 crore and issued threats when the demand was not met. This, they said, affected their family business.

Police said an investigation is underway, and Ghanashree Bagh and Tilak Bhattacharya may be summoned for questioning.

The police have launched an investigation based on this complaint. An investigation has also been started against Partha Chatterjee. The police have said Ghansshree Bagh and Tilak Bhattacharya may be summoned for questioning soon.

–IANS

sch/skp